UN Secretary Deplores Taliban Mass Murder Of Civilians

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed his deep concerns after hearing of “reports that civilians were deliberately targeted and killed during recent fighting in the Yakawlang area of Hazarajat in central Afghanistan.” The United Nations has said that 100 people were killed and one UN Afghan staff person missing after Taliban forces recaptured Yakawlang. However other non-governmental organizations report that some 600 people have been executed at the hands of Taliban forces. Reportedly, Taliban soldiers also looted the area healthcare facilities and murdered of hospital patients and staff. Yakawlang is located in Hazarajat, the home of the ethnic minority group the Hazaras. In a statement released by the UN, Secretary-General Annan called this "only the latest tragedy to befall the Hazaras," a largely Shi'ite ethnic group that has traditionally been the most disadvantaged in Afghanistan.

1/27/2016 Taiwan Elects First Woman President - In a landslide victory, the leader of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen won the country's presidential election, becoming the first woman in Taiwan's history to hold the position.
Emphasizing her party's commitment to maintaining Taiwan's independence from China, Tsai won over young voters eager to usher in a political changing of the guard following some 70 years of dominance by the pro-Chinese unification party, the Kuomintang (KMT), chaired by presidential opponent Eric Chu. . . .